May 5, 2011
“Not so many minds” 0
I watched “The last Samurai” yesterday.
Now I know why I have longed for going to Japan. It is the commitment to totality.
I had a young student once, his name was David, and most of all he dreamed about going to Japan to be in a dojo and study martial arts the proper way. I understand him so well. And I really hope his dream came true.
I find many rock solid messages coming through in this movie, and I am really touched by some.
One is; what ever you do, do it with all of your heart. Be present in what ever you are doing.
I am painting a pretty difficult ceiling these days. It has been a journey in loads of resistance! Like; “Do I really want to take on this task?” or; “No, this will just be too difficult!” And “I don´t know a f….ing thing about how to fix this”… and.. “pew! This was hard”, and “shit! -what happened here! ? This is NOT how it was meant to look like! “, “Oh, my neck!, I am all stiff, I think I wait another hour … “
Today, after I have seen “The samurai”, I find that I do this in another way. There is another perspective, another feeling, another focus. I am following the rhythm, the strokes, the brush in a much more centered and focused way. My mind is not everywhere else. It do not tend to wander so much, but if it do, I catch my self in making more mistakes. And I also get more tired when not focused.
“ Not so many minds”. This sentence has come back to me several times today. “Not so many minds” is what the Japanese warrior told the US captain when exercising with the sword. Focus. Be in the moment. Do not think about what everyone might think about you, what you will do next, if what you do is right or not. Be in the moment. It IS right. It IS here. Now. It does not matter if you are exercising, or painting like me, writing, or cleaning the dishes. Driving your car, teaching or giving a speech. It is not about what you do, but your presence and commitment in what you do.
Along with this comes a wonderful bonus.
Perfection. The Samurai needs perfection to survive. To do his duty. This of course comes with practice. But it comes just a much with presence. When you are totally emerged in what goes on, in what you are doing, the very best of your potential will show itself by itself. Take an artist who is carving a piece of wood, using very sharp knives. If his mind gets lost in how to pay his bills, his knife might slip, and his piece of art is destroyed.
It is a freedom in this totality. In the absence of “many minds” there is a great freedom. It is also a very great satisfaction. It is meditation. It is grounding. Being here now is freedom. A rock solid freedom. Not like “freedom to escape”, not a freedom from, but a freedom to. And this is the true freedom.
This is what I long for:
I long for more presence in my daily life. I long for the feeling of fulfillment in this. I long for the totality in what ever I do. I long for more of the meditation in doing everyday things. The zen living.
I did not go to Japan. I came to Sweden. And in my way, I can find Japan here.
- mette -
